Trump urges Coca-Cola to use cane sugar, sparking backlash from Midwestern corn producers

LeMonde

23-07-2025

Would you rather have corn syrup or cane sugar? That question has been on Americans' minds since Coca-Cola confirmed on Tuesday, July 22, that it would now produce a portion of its sweetened beverage using cane sugar in the US market.
Donald Trump, a well-known fan of Diet Coke – which substitutes regular sugar with aspartame – spilled the beans on July 16, praising the shift by the Atlanta-based company. "I have been speaking to Coca-Cola about using REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the United States, and they have agreed to do so. I'd like to thank all of those in authority at Coca-Cola," the president said in a message posted on his Truth Social platform. "This will be a very good move by them – You'll see. It's just better!"
High-fructose corn syrup has come under fire from Trump and his health secretary, Robert Kennedy Jr., who has made the fight against junk food his top priority. "MAHA wins," Kennedy posted on X on July 19, referencing the acronym MAHA – modeled after Trump's MAGA ("Make America Great Again") – which stands for "Make America Healthy Again."
But is that really true? Kennedy declared in April: "Sugar is poison." No one disputes this in a country plagued by endemic obesity, and all experts agree that it's necessary to reduce sugar consumption. "What makes soda unhealthy is that it's liquid sugar, providing empty calories with no nutritional benefits. Swapping one type of sugar for another does nothing to make soda healthier," Eva Greenthal, a researcher at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, told CNN.